Thursday, October 23, 2014

Samsung Galaxy Alpha review

Enticingly sleek Samsung handset with its eye on the iPhone 6


"Samsung has created its most desirable and balanced phone yet, though there is a price to pay."

For
  • Classy design
  • Lightweight body
  • Blistering performance
  • 4.7-inch display well-sized and bright
  • Good camera

Against
  • No microSD
  • Fiddly finger sensor
  • 720p display not quite as sharp as it could be
  • TouchWiz UI still inferior to stock Android
  • Battery life underwhelming




Samsung Galaxy Alpha(source:-gsmarena.com)

General 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
4G Network LTE 800 / 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 / 2600
SIM Nano-SIM
Announced 2014, August
Status Available. Released 2014, September
Body Dimensions 132.4 x 65.5 x 6.7 mm (5.21 x 2.58 x 0.26 in)
Weight 115 g (4.06 oz)
 - Fingerprint sensor (PayPal certified)
Display Type Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size 720 x 1280 pixels, 4.7 inches (~312 ppi pixel density)
Multitouch Yes
Protection TBC
Sound Alert types Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
Loudspeaker Yes
3.5mm jack Yes
Memory Card slot No
Internal 32 GB, 2 GB RAM
Data GPRS Yes
EDGE Yes
Speed HSDPA, 42 Mbps, HSUPA; LTE-A, Cat4, 150 Mbps DL, 50 Mbps UL
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth v4.0, A2DP, EDR, LE
NFC Yes
USB microUSB v2.0
Camera Primary 12 MP, 4608 x 2592 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, check quality
Features Dual camera, geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, panorama, HDR
Video 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 720p@120fps, check quality
Secondary 2.1 MP
Features OS Android OS, v4.4.4 (KitKat)
Chipset Exynos 5 Octa 5430
CPU Quad-core 1.8 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7
GPU Mali-T628 MP6
Sensors Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, heart rate
Messaging SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
Browser HTML5
Radio No
GPS Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS
Java Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
Colors Charcoal Black, Sleek Silver, Dazzling White, Frosted Gold, Scuba Blue
 - ANT+ support
- Dropbox (50 GB cloud storage)
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
- MP4/WMV/H.264/H.263 player
- MP3/WAV/WMA/eAAC+/FLAC player
- Organizer
- Photo/video editor
- Document viewer
- Voice memo/dial/commands
- Predictive text input (Swype)
Battery   Li-Ion 1860 mAh battery
Stand-by
Talk time





















While Apple is being praised and mocked in unequal measure for launching the "bigger than bigger" iPhone 6 with a 4.7-inch display and the even bigger iPhone 6 Plus - is that a reversing beep I can hear? - Samsung has performed an about-turn of its own with the launch of the Galaxy Alpha.
This is the first Samsung smartphone I can remember using that values attractive design ahead of spec list box-ticking. Whilst it's not the finished article, it marks a welcome departure in an exciting new direction for the company.
It's also arguably the most balanced and comfortable-to-use premium phone Samsung has made since the Samsung Galaxy S2.
Make no mistake though - this is unknown, risky territory for Samsung. Starting from £549.99 SIM-free, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha is priced like a flagship phone, but it's technically out-specced by the Samsung Galaxy S5.
Really, though, this simply reframes the age-old iOS vs Android argument with none of the platform bias - what makes a premium phone premium?

Design

Let's get the obvious comment out of the way early doors. The Samsung Galaxy Alpha looks a lot like an iPhone.
While it's clearly been released to pre-empt the launch of the iPhone 6, though, the Alpha's design is pure iPhone 4. It's got a very familiar flat-edged aluminium rim with that same nick-inviting chamfered edge. Even the machined speaker grid on the bottom edge is reminiscent of Apple's seminal phone.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha review
In appearance, the Alpha clearly follows the iPhone 4 - but it has subtle distinctions
Of course, the fact that Samsung has borrowed some ideas from Apple is far less noteworthy than the fact that it has finally adopted metal into its design process. Given how well the company has done with its first attempt, I have to ask: what took you so long, Samsung?This is a lovely phone to hold. It sits in one hand delightfully. As someone with larger-than-average hands, I can just about stretch my thumb to each corner of the 4.7-inch display without needing the shuffle the handset around in my hands.
Samsung Galaxy Alpha review
Decidely middle sized, the Alpha sits nicely in the hand
That's facilitated by a nice thin bezel and the Galaxy Alpha's super-thin body. At 6.7mm, it's not the thinnest phone in the world, but it's up there. It's also 0.2mm thinner than the similarly proportioned iPhone 6.
Samsung Galaxy Alpha review
Not the thinnest on the market, but the Alpha is still strikingly slim
Like Apple's new iPhone, Samsung has positioned the Galaxy Alpha's power button on the top right-hand edge of the phone, so you can reach it easily with thumb or finger. The volume rocker is on the opposite edge, if a little higher up. Both have a satisfying click to them.
Samsung Galaxy Alpha review
The power and volume controls are easily accessible
It's when you look closely at these side buttons that you realise the Galaxy Alpha's metal rim isn't quite as unoriginal as it first seems. There's a subtle outward curve just before you reach the top and bottom edges, which is both nice to look at and offers a useful niche to tuck your little finger into.You know you're definitely dealing with a Samsung phone when you turn it over - and we're not just talking about the Samsung logo or the centrally-mounted, square-rimmed, slightly protruding camera unit.
Samsung Galaxy Alpha review
The back of the Alpha is soft-touch polycarbonate, and it looks remarkably good
The Galaxy Alpha's dalliance with metal extends only to its outer rim. The rear of the device is the same kind of soft-touch polycarbonate as we've seen before.It's one of the least objectionable uses for the material yet, though. Perhaps it's the fact that Samsung has done away with that awful faux-stitching effect, or the fact that it's framed by elegant metal rather than ugly shiny plastic. I don't know, but in this case Samsung's use of plastic is as notable and restrained as its use of metal.The decision not to opt for an all-metal body has led to a number of other benefits. It makes the Alpha easy to grip and handle, it allows for a removable battery, and it makes the phone remarkably light.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha review
Easy access to the battery is a benefit of the detachable back
At 115 grams, it's 14 grams lighter than the iPhone 6. In fact, it's only 3 grams heavier than the 4-inch iPhone 5S. No, it doesn't quite feel as premium as either, but it's nowhere near as far off as Samsung's earlier efforts.And this introduces one of the most contentious specs of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha - its display. As I've already mentioned, this is a 4.7-inch screen, which kind of bucks the trend for recent high-end Android devices. The HTC One M8, the Google Nexus 5, the Sony Xperia Z2, and yes, the Samsung Galaxy S5, have all busted through the 5-inch barrier.Indeed, the Alpha feels like a blast from the past, going back to the time of the Nexus 4, the HTC One X, and the Samsung Galaxy S3. More pertinently, and as already discussed, this is the size adopted by Apple for its iPhone 6.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha review
The Alpha's 720p Super AMOLED display is bright and clear at these dimensions
The result is that you'll probably find the Galaxy Alpha either slightly smaller or slightly bigger than you're used to. My view? Like Goldilocks and the middle-sized bed, this one feels just right. It offers a clear view of HD video, games and most web pages without sacrificing portability or one-handed usability.Perhaps even more contentious is the Samsung Galaxy Alpha's display resolution. It's only ("only") 720p.Complaints about this lower resolution are valid - particularly given the Galaxy Alpha's premium price - but only up to a point. Yes, other Android phones have hit the considerably sharper 1080p resolution standard in recent times, but the vast majority of these have been larger 5-inch displays.
In fact, if we're talking mainstream phones, only 2013's HTC One M7 really springs to mind as offering a 4.7-inch 1080p display.
In a sub-5-inch screen like this one, 720p feels perfectly adequate. That's not to say that you definitely won't notice the difference in sharpness between the Galaxy Alpha and (for example) the Galaxy S5. But as it is, using the phone in isolation, the Alpha's display is plenty sharp enough.
Indeed, with Samsung's expert - and still relatively unique - use of Super AMOLED technology, the Galaxy Alpha's picture positively pops from the screen. Colours are rich and contrast levels are exemplary, while you won't be experiencing inky blacks of this kind on any LCD panel.
It still lends some icons and images a slightly false, gaudy appearance, but once you're attuned to it (or once you've tuned it to your liking) other displays can look a little drab by comparison.

Performance and battery
Another reason the Samsung Galaxy Alpha is so pleasant to use, and probably why I'm finding the TouchWiz UI so easy to live with, is that everything simply flies on it.
This is one speedy, responsive smartphone. Navigating through the Android menus is super smooth, with nary a glimmer of a stutter.
Besides Samsung's software optimisation, that's partly thanks to the speedy Exynos 5 Octa SoC that's running most versions of the phone. Samsung's own chip, which switches between four low-power processor cores for light tasks and four supercharged ones for heavier tasks, is quite the performer.
What's more, with fewer pixels to push around than, say, the Samsung Galaxy S5, there are even more processor resources free at any one time. That's born out with our usual GeekBench 3 benchmark test.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha review
In benchmark tests, the Alpha just outperformed the S5
An average multi-core score of 3,132 pitches the Alpha's performance level slightly ahead of the Galaxy S5, which managed 2,909 in our test.There still aren't enough top-performing compact phones like the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact for my liking. Here's another to add to add to that tiny pile.

Battery

For a phone that favours a slim, compact design above all else, battery life was always going to be a concern. Indeed, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha's 1,860mAh battery seems a little slight by modern standards. Compare it to the Galaxy S5 and its 2,800mAh battery, and it looks alarmingly small - regardless of its less demanding display.
Sure enough, the Alpha only just lasted through a full day of moderate usage, and required a nightly charge. Introduce a little gaming and HD video watching, and the percentage plummeted.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha review
Power saving mode is so severe, it won't even allow you to take a screengrab
Of course, that in itself is not unusual for a modern high-end smartphone. Our regular battery test, which involves running a 90 minute 720p video with the display cranked up to full brightness, left 84 percent left in the tank, which isn't bad by any means.That's the same level of performance as the Galaxy S5 and the iPhone 5S, and is well ahead of the HTC One M8.This being a Samsung phone, you also get the benefits of Ultra power saving mode. This is way more extreme than your average power saving mode, switching the display to greyscale, providing a simplified homescreen, restricting app usage to the bare essentials, cutting mobile data when the screen turns off, and limiting connectivity.
It's so bare bones that it wouldn't even let me take a screen grab for this section.
The result, though, is that your usage time will increase dramatically. I sat and watched as the stated battery percentage ticked up by 10 percent, such is the mode's miraculous restorative power. It's perfect for those emergency situations when you're low on juice and far way from a charger, though at this point it's worth remembering that your £550 smartphone is essentially less useful than a 10-year-old feature phone.

Camera
It might seem as if Samsung has compromised with the Samsung Galaxy Alpha's 12-megapixel camera. After all, the Samsung Galaxy S5 has a 16-megapixel example.
That may well be the case, but the Galaxy Alpha still turns out some truly excellent images. Just as importantly, it's a joy to handle. Not only is it fast to focus and snap, but you don't have to work hard or fiddle with settings to get decent results either - just point and shoot.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha review
The camera is a joy to use
Of course, when you do delve into the Alpha's camera settings, you'll find plenty to play with. Ever-present on the main camera interface is a toggle for an accomplished HDR mode, for those high-contrast or shady images. You also get a selective focus mode that accentuates a close-up (50cm or less) object by blurring out the background.The mode even lets you switch between focusing on the foreground or background after the picture has been taken. In truth, you can get a decent enough depth of focus effect in general use without needing to switch to this artificial method, which takes a little too much framing and a considerable amount of time to process. That's more a testament to the Alpha's fine camera than it is a criticism of a gimmicky mode, though.
Elsewhere you get the same extras as the Galaxy S5 and others in the Samsung range, including Beauty face (for smoothing off those wrinkles and spots) and a streamlined Shot & more mode. The latter is where you can apply various effects and post-processing options such as Best photo, Best face, erasing unwanted objects and merging multiple shots into an action photo.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha review
The cleaned-up camera app is intuitive to use
As with elsewhere in its TouchWiz UI, Samsung has cleaned up and simplified its camera UI significantly to the point where it's actually quite intuitive to use.As noted above, you also get 4K video recording here, which provides footage with four times the pixel count of 1080p Full HD. The Galaxy Alpha handles this without batting an eyelid, although you lose the ability to do extra things like taking still snaps while you're recording, so Samsung has understandably stuck with the more flexible 1080p mode as the default.

Sample images

Samsung Galaxy Alpha review
Depth of field effects are decent even without selective focus mode
Click here for the full res image
Samsung Galaxy Alpha review
Landscape pictures reveal natural colours and decent detail levels
Click here for the full res image
Samsung Galaxy Alpha review
Macro shots reveal plenty of detail
Click here for the full res image
Samsung Galaxy Alpha review
Focus mode makes close-ups even more pronounced - sometimes artificially so
Click here for the full res image
Samsung Galaxy Alpha review
Even in low light, it's possible to get some decent results
Click here for the full res image
Samsung Galaxy Alpha review
This image shows the Alpha's results with HDR off
Click here for the full res image
Samsung Galaxy Alpha review
And this is the result with HDR one
Click here for the full res image

 The Competition

iPhone 6


Samsung Galaxy Alpha review
Samsung is clearly targeting the iPhone 6 with the Alpha
The iPhone 6 is clearly the smartphone Samsung had in mind when it launched the Samsung Galaxy Alpha. It's got the same-sized 4.7-inch display, a similarly slim metal-heavy design and a similar price point.Samsung has the slight edge on size and weight, but the iPhone 6 retains Apple's premium design edge with its all-metal construction. We'd also take Apple's classy iOS 8 software over Samsung's slightly clunky TouchWiz UI any day.
After our full review of the iPhone, it's definitely the superior phone in myriad ways, but this is Samsung's most focused attempt at taking on Apple directly in a single premium handset yet.

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact


Samsung Galaxy Alpha review
The Xperia Z3 Compact isn't as handsome as the Alpha, but it is water and dustproof
The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact wasn't out at the time of writing this review. After Apple's new handset, though, it's clearly the most direct rival to the Galaxy Alpha.It's got a similar 4.6-inch 720p display, and a similarly high-end Snapdragon 801 CPU powering it. In the Sony Xperia 3 Compact's favour it has a tasty-looking 20.3-megapixel camera.
One thing the Xperia Z3 doesn't have is a classy metal design, but on the flip side its tough plastic shell means that it's dust and water resistant. The Galaxy Alpha certainly isn't.

HTC One M7


Samsung Galaxy Alpha review
It's a looker, but the M7 can't match the Alpha on specs
You can't talk about premium metal Android phones without mentioning one of HTC's recent efforts.
While the HTC One M8 is the most recent and impressive effort, however, I feel that last year's HTC One M7 - which is still being sold as new by HTC - is a more apt Galaxy Alpha competitor.
After all, it too has a premium metal design and a 4.7-inch display. In fact, the HTC One M7 arguably has the superior examples of both. Its body is ALL metal, and distinctive to boot (no raiding of the Apple design book here).
Meanwhile the One M7's display has a much higher 1080p resolution, not to mention a sub-£400 price tag for those prepared to shop around.
Of course, last year's HTC flagship also has an older, less capable Snapdragon 600 CPU, which means it's not as good a performer as the Alpha, nor is it as future-proof. Its 4-megapixel UltraPixel camera isn't as good an all-round snapper as the Alpha's 12-megapixel unit, either.
 
Verdict
It's taken a while, but Samsung has finally come up with a premium metal design for one of its phones - and it's pretty darned good for a first attempt. True, the company has sacrificed a little of its box-ticking cutting edge allure in the process, but the result is the most balanced and pleasant-to-use handset in the range.

We liked

While it borrows liberally from the Apple design playbook, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha still feels like a notable progression for the company - and it still feels like a Samsung phone. Just a particularly classy one.
In scaling back to a 4.7-inch display, and framing it in a super-slim chassis, the Alpha takes its place as the nicest Samsung phone to wield - particularly in one hand.
Indeed, the Galaxy Alpha is brilliant in day-to-day use thanks to blazing performance and an accomplished 12-megapixel camera.

We disliked

While Samsung's TouchWiz UI is the leanest it's ever been, it's still a glaring weak point when you compare it to rival efforts. It should be next on the list for a radical overhaul by Samsung's designers.
Meanwhile, Samsung has evidently had to make certain compromises to facilitate that slim, premium design. One takes the form of a slightly less-than-premium 720p display. So-so battery life is the other notable downside to such a slinky handset design.
These shortfalls make the Samsung Galaxy Alpha's premium price point feel very steep - or at least it does if you don't value high-end external design as highly as cutting edge internal technology. It's a lot, lot more expensive than the S5, which has a much more impressive spec list.

Verdict

Samsung has created a truly desirable smartphone for the first time in... well, ever. Those who were fine with Samsung's plastic-heavy approach in the past may frown at perceived compromises in the Galaxy Alpha's spec list, but I'd encourage you to hold one in your hand before making any snap judgements.
This is a phone that's pleasant to use in a variety of situations, thanks to its lightweight design, just-right size, and impressively swift performance.
I'd have liked a 1080p display and stronger battery life, and ultimately Samsung's software design is holding the Alpha back from being a true iPhone 6 toppled. But this is a solid first step on a bold new path for Samsung - it's just hard to understand why on earth it's so expensive.


source:-Samsung Galaxy Alpha review